Missing Pieces of a Puzzle

  • 08 May - 14 May, 2021
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction

Zain’s Theory

Few months back…. There were three people, Asad, Kiran and Aariaz. They all belonged to somewhat middle class or upper middle class families. The three of them were above 25 but surely less than 30 years old.

Asad was fond of bowling and was completely jobless. He used to spend most of his time outside during the night. His parents were probably not quite close to him, which was why it was easier for him to spend more time with friends away from his home.

Kiran was a young woman who really enjoyed taking selfies and other similar stuff. Her Instagram and Facebook statuses were to change in every twenty four hours. She also shared an interest of spending most of her time outside the house with Asad.

Aaraiz was quite a sensitive guy who was desperately in love with Kiran. He was upset about the fact that despite he had expressed his feelings to Kiran several times, she responded with nothing except for sympathy and a few words of compassion.

One fine day, Asad and Kiran met at some bowling club for the very first time. Kiran asked him,

“Have we met before?”

“I think we were in the same university,” Asad replied as he recalled her slightly. “Yeah, different batch though.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Yeah.”

“So, what are you doing these days?”

“Well, I’m simply enjoying my life to the fullest at the moment.”

“Really?”

“I am jobless, but I want to stay like this for at least a few years.”

Kiran chuckled and they had a little more conversation that led to their friendship.

*************

Aaraiz who was upset with his life was spending most of his time alone. He used to cry by himself but since he knew that it was a waste of time and effort, and the only way to attain Kiran’s love was to prove to her practically.

Aaraiz had quite some money but he didn’t want to prove his love through any materialistic possessions. He was more of a philosophical person who preferred poetry and similar stuff. This was the reason he was rejected in the first place.

Aaraiz was one day on a vehicle. Was the vehicle his own or some friends’, don’t know, but he was driving it. He was riding that vehicle while thinking about Kiran. His mind was not on the road. The speed of the vehicle was probably faster than what it should be on the road.

On the other side of the road at quite some distance, Asad was waiting for someone. He was holding his cell phone and was waiting for some kind of reply. He texted someone but before he could finally send the complete text, his phone started ringing. The call was from an unknown number. He answered anyway,

“Hello?”

“Is this Asad?”

“Yes, who is it?”

“Your dues are pending. I am speaking from The Tribes Club.”

“Look, I’ll pay you soon. Don’t worry.”

“It is quite a long due. We need an immediate response from you or else we’re sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean by that?” Asad asked angrily.

“We’ll have to cancel your membership from the club.”

“Look, listen to me please…”

“We need you to pay those dues as soon as possible.”

“Listen to me first; you’re not even listening to me. I’m just saying that I need some time, please.”

“Sir, you’ve been saying this for quite a while now.”

Asad saw Kiran standing on the opposite side footpath. Kiran waved at him.

Asad said in his heart,

I’ve been waiting for you for quite long.

Asad disconnected his call.

That moment, some vehicle came in fast speed. It crossed the road between Kiran and Asad. Asad who was quite panicked and startled by it fell backwards. But he was not hurt in any way. Although, Kiran screamed on witnessing this horrible accident.

The car on the other hand crashed with the street light. Aaraiz who was inside the vehicle got a little hurt. His elbow was bleeding.

Aaraiz, however, opened the door of his car and looked behind. He was more than just shocked seeing how Kiran was running towards this guy who had just fallen down.

Who is this guy? Aaraiz said in his thoughts. Is it really Kiran? What is she doing here anyway?

He stepped out of the car and said,

Maybe I should gain her attention too. I’m the one who actually got hurt here.

That moment, Aaraiz walked and stood close to Kiran. He rose up his bent elbow, so his wound could be clearly visible before them. Kiran who was kneeling on the ground looked up at him. As she recognised Aaraiz, she soon uttered,

“Aaraiz? You?”

She looked at his wound. Asad stood up that moment. Kiran stood up after him. As they both looked at Aaraiz with strange kind of amazement on their faces, Aaraiz touched his wound with his hand to make his blood visible.

“Let’s go,” Kiran said to Asad.

They both turned and started walking towards the opposite direction.

Aaraiz was badly heartbroken seeing this.

*************

Next afternoon, Asad was holding a cheque that he was thinking of turning into a cash form. He received a call from his uncle that moment.

“Hello?” he answered the call.

“Hey Asad, it’s me. Did you meet him?”

“Yeah, hi uncle! I have received this cheque.”

“You got it?”

“Yes,” Asad said.

“The driver came? You met him?”

“Yes. I found him and he gave me the cheque. Thank you.”

“No problem. Look Asad, you must know that I gave you this for a special purpose.”

“Yes, I know uncle,” Asad responded.

“And what purpose is that?”

“Look sir, I highly appreciate this. I’ll return this really soon.”

“No Asad, tell me why I gave you this.”

“So that I can pay off my debts.”

“Yes, all of them. And you are not allowed to spend a single dime anywhere else. You understand that.”

“Sure,” Asad said this with least enthusiasm.

“You are a good person. You will pay your dues and live a respectful life now.”

“Sure, thank you.”

“I’ll contact you in a few days, okay?”

“Sure.”

Asad ended the call.

A while later, Asad met a friend who asked him,

“So Asad, did you finally get the money?”

“Yes, my uncle has sent me a huge amount via cheque. We will turn it into cash and then our luxurious life will begin. Although, he gave me this money for paying off my dues.”

“But you are not doing this, right?”

“Of course not,” Asad chuckled with sarcasm.

*************

In those days, Kiran who was spending most of her time on outings with friends got sick. She got badly sick as she was attacked by Hepatitis A. She wasn’t concerned about her disease; she was worried about the huge time that was wasted in all of this.

Kiran was looking after her own self. She was capable and intelligent enough to do this on her own. Her apartment was vacant as usual. Her last meeting with Asad was the one in which Aaraiz was almost badly hurt in that car accident.

Aaraiz was really worried about her as he hadn’t seen her on Facebook and other social media platforms. He used to wonder where the person who was always active on social media is absent like this. His love for Kiran was not fading but increasing.

Kiran was recovering slowly and eventually got better. Although, she was told by her family doctors about taking special precautions regarding food, she did not take any special care of herself. Nothing could bring a stop to her frivolous lifestyle.

Kiran’s friends have testified that she was quite a greedy person. Not money minded but greedy. She wanted more of everything. Nothing could keep her satisfied for long. Materialism was something that was found in her in every way. Her friends really disliked this thing about her but she wasn’t concerned about their thoughts anyway.

Her own stuff which was quite enough never really satisfied her. Her desires were not fading with the passage of time. And these led her to her disease, because food was something that gave her every day’s pleasure.

Kiran had a close friend Mahnoor who had testified quite a lot about her. She was around her age and shared similar interests with her. The two of them met after she recovered. Mahnoor was careless like her which was why she did not stop her from eating fast food with excessive oil. While the two of them were having dinner, Kiran spoke up,

“It seems as if a huge portion of my life has been wasted. I could have done quite a lot in this time.”

“Wasted?”

“Of course, I just want to make up for every moment in my life.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll think of something,” Mahnoor said.

“Yes.”

“By the way, I want to ask you something. What is your relationship status with Asad?”

“Asad…Yeah, I really like this guy. He is not looking forward for a relationship though.”

“Not looking for a relationship? Wait, are you looking forward for a relationship with him?”

“No, I mean I don’t know. But yes,” Kiran said with strange confusion.

“Oh, my God!” Mahnoor said with amusement. “Are you in love?”

“No, of course not. I just seem to like him. But not for a relationship.”

“Then for what? Money and materialistic possessions….”

“Shut up!” Kiran got angry for a while.

After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, Kiran said,

“This guy is not quite rich.”

“So, you like him for what? His personality?”

“He is good looking. Charming, one can say.”

“Oh,” Mahnoor teased her.

“Look, can we just change this topic?”

“Okay,” Mahnoor said in a sarcastic tone.

After a moment, while they were having drinks, Kiran said to Mahnoor,

“The truth is that I don’t want to work hard in my life. I just want to enjoy and enjoy every moment. This is why I am looking for a guy who would willingly earn for me.”

“What about that guy Aaraiz?”

“Ah, he. He is a no one for me.”

“What, just like that?” Mahnoor asked feeling a bit ridiculous. “He is a no one and you moved on.”

“I’m saying there is nothing in that guy. He is a good hearted person but I don’t like anything about him.”

“You know what Kiran...”

“What?”

“Pardon me, but you are not a respectable person in the eyes of several people. And I understand that now.”

“What? What do you mean by that? I just said that I don’t like Aaraiz, so what? It’s my choice to like someone or dislike someone.”

“No, but you have to be careful about somebody’s feelings. He proposed you didn’t he?”

“Look, I don’t even care about his existence. He is a trash for me.”

“You proved my point.”

Mahnoor stood up after saying this and then said,

“I’m leaving now. I don’t trust our friendship to sustain forever.”

Mahnoor left her.

*************

Few days later, Aaraiz just came out of some jewellery shop. He was holding a necklace with a heart shaped locket. He was depressed as usual. He kept the necklace inside his pocket but he felt more grieved after he did it. So, he took it out again to feel better. He looked at it and then said,

Oh, I only wish she understands me. My love has no worth in her eyes. How can I convince her that I am different than other guys?

He remembered the face of the new guy she was with several days back. He asked himself in his thoughts,

I wonder who that new guy was. How she knows him and what’s going on between them?

Meanwhile at another corner of the city, Asad was holding two huge bundles of cash in his hand. He was walking with his friend, who asked him,

“Don’t you think we should pay off the debt of at least one club?”

“I was thinking that…But we won’t do it too soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean let’s see. Let’s see, how much they can pressurise us. The moment they will absolutely about to cancel our membership, we will pay them. In the meantime, we will simply spend this on other pleasures.”

“Great!”

That moment, some criminal came with a veil on his face. He said to Asad seeing money in his hands,

“Alright, keep quiet and hand me over whatever you have.”

Asad was horrified but he didn’t react. The criminal took out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Asad.

to be continued...

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